Catching the Magic

Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!

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sleep is for the weak

What made today mean something?

July 5, 2011 BritMumInNZ 10 Comments Alice, Art, Writing

I knew how it was going to end before they even began. I wished for a moment the grown up in me, lurking somewhere, would step forward and declare the activity ill-timed. But the child in me wanted to aid their spontaneous creativity; even though the adult knew we’d be forced to clean up the […]

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Courage

June 13, 2011 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Random Musings, Sarah, Sophie, Writing

When I think of the word ‘Courage’ I think of the ‘Lion’ in the ‘Wizard of Oz’. He spends the story looking for courage, only to find it was there, deep inside. Courage is often something we wish for, want or desperately need. Finding it and keeping a hand on it whilst we walk over […]

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I Am: ‘Sleep is for the Weak’ Writing Workshop

November 25, 2010November 26, 2010 BritMumInNZ 12 Comments Sarah, Sophie, Writing

I Am Alive in the moment. Engaged in the now. A body of excitement, Bathed in the sun’s glow. Traces of the sea, stay to play. As my skin drips, with jewels of spray. The taste on my tongue is salty sweet, Whilst waves of foam crash at my feet. I giggle as the surf […]

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Due Date: Six months of waiting to be with the one I loved.

November 20, 2010November 20, 2010 BritMumInNZ 20 Comments Blasts from the past, Dan, Sarah, Writing

Joining in with Sleep is for the Weak Writing Workshop: Life on Film this week. I chose the first prompt: Due Date – Tell us about something anticipated and what happened when it arrived. ‘Daniel is leaving tonight on a plane, I can see the tail lights heading for Spain…’ The words of the song […]

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Coming Up For Air: A day like any other?

November 6, 2010November 11, 2010 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments Random Musings, Writing

Sometimes it feels good to dump down the activities of the day in words. To let everything go like a leaf at the mercy of the autumn wind or blossom raining down to carpet the ground in a spring shower. To come up for air. To appreciate the two forces at work in a strong […]

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Waiting for the holidays to start

September 23, 2010September 24, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Sarah, School hols

Term 3 comes to a close tomorrow and the children break up for two weeks holiday. For me, it’s going to be all go in the catering, entertaining, mediating and facilitating department. I have got rather too used to ‘just Alice and me’ time in the morning whilst Sophie is out at Kindi and Charlotte […]

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Change

September 8, 2010 BritMumInNZ 17 Comments Random Musings, Sarah, Writing

It’s happened before and it’s happening again. I thought I’d escaped it this time, but the pricking sensation behind my eyes was back. I wanted to cry, just because. There was no rhyme or reason. The children’s laughter was heard, but not felt. The bread was fresh, but not smelt. The flowers, so pretty brought […]

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First Kiss – a long time coming

August 19, 2010August 19, 2010 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Random Musings

Ever since my friend Emma told me how babies are really made I haven’t been able to look at boys in the same way. It was all so simple before I knew. Now being 10 feels different. Some of my friends have started playing kiss chase. If you get caught you’re supposed to hide in […]

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Trying to stay focused on the magic

August 6, 2010August 6, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Random Musings

I’d forgotten how life with a baby can sometimes feel a little relentless. It’s easy to get caught up in the repetition and forget to focus on the magic. Yesterday started well, with berry muffins freshly baked and cooling down at 9.30am. Sophie, still home from Kindi with a cold, played well and Alice was […]

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Hope, Faith, Love & Luck

July 29, 2010 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments Random Musings

The junior school field was a sea of clover in the summer. I was at that magical age of seven when everything seems possible and the world full of intrigue and mystery. I’d heard about the legendary four-leaf clover and with a sea of clover under my bare-feet I couldn’t resist the thought that one […]

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Walking back in time

July 22, 2010August 19, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Sarah

‘Race you to the top!’ I shouted to my sister as my legs started at a run up to the summit of the hill. ‘See you up there girls. We’ll take our time and enjoy the scenery,’ my Dad said with a smile of pride and perhaps a hint of envy at our boundless energy. […]

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  • WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!February 20, 2025
    In November 2024 I took on the epic endurance event of the 50km WAI2K Ultra, from Woodside Train Station in Greytown, through the hills of the Wairarapa and Kaitoke Regional Park, to Tunnel Gully Upper Picnic Area in Upper Hutt. This mixed terrain course involves around 2,500m of elevation gain through dense scrub, beautiful native… Read more: WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!
  • Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.February 6, 2025
    Life is never all sunshine and roses. When we have had the good fortunate of having people in our lives that we’ve loved deeply, and have felt their love in return, it is painful to see that person suffering. Life is all about beginnings and endings, hellos and goodbyes, first moments and celebrations, and also… Read more: Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.
  • Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024January 6, 2025
    At the end of May 2024 my husband and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and took the opportunity to grab a fix of winter sunshine, over the ‘King’s Birthday’ weekend public holiday (beginning of June), with a trip to the Gold Coast – on Australia’s East Coast. We were joined by our children, Sophie… Read more: Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024
  • ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024January 2, 2025
    After over twenty five years of living thousands of miles away from my birth country, and many flights back and forth, I am still in awe of the fact I can be on the other side of the world in 24 hours. I remind myself that jet passenger services didn’t start until the late 1950s… Read more: ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024
  • Race Tekapo 50kmSeptember 29, 2024
    Race registration on Friday night, by the shore of Lake Tekapo, was a ‘hold on tight to your bib’ or you won’t be going anywhere tomorrow affair. The bitingly cold air was a shock to the system, after my husband, daughter and I had driven from a sunny, spring like day in Christchurch. Our flight… Read more: Race Tekapo 50km
  • Running the stunning Motatapu Trail MarathonMay 30, 2024
    This was one of the most beautiful trail marathons I’ve ran and was a great way to celebrate a summer of running and see in the beginning of autumn (though the weather was still very much throwing the heat of summer on event day – which fell on the first Saturday in March). The 42km… Read more: Running the stunning Motatapu Trail Marathon
  • 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!May 21, 2024
    I’ve been on a good running streak for over a year now (meaning no injuries, illness or troublesome hormones to slow me down – thanks to a mix of strength work, good luck and hormone replacement therapy!). When I saw that a new event was going to be held in the city where I live… Read more: 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!
  • Six month catch up!March 9, 2024
    Time is literally flying away on me and blog writing is very neglected these days, but we are all well here and can’t believe our lovely Christmas and New Year festivities were three months ago! Spring and summer has raced by and now we are on the cusp of autumn here in New Zealand. Since… Read more: Six month catch up!
  • Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.August 8, 2023
    With the days dark and short here in New Zealand we jetted off for some warmth and sunshine in the Cook Islands, just a three to four hour flight from Auckland. We have never visited any of the Pacific Islands and it was with great delight that we touched down on the runway in Rarotonga,… Read more: Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday CelebrationAugust 7, 2023
    Turning 50 is definitely a milestone birthday, but hubby Dan didn’t want a party so in February we decided to head away for the weekend to celebrate at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival. Dan’s Birthday fell on the same weekend as the festival, in the sunshine summer month of February here in New Zealand,… Read more: Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!May 10, 2023
    Round the Bays Wellington, held in February every year, is always an iconic event, generally bestowed with sunshine and an amazing turn out of people of all ages. The atmosphere for this event is like a festival, with entertainment lining the route of the first 6km, between Waitangi Park and Kilbirnie Park (where all the… Read more: A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!April 4, 2023
    On Census night in New Zealand we were away from home, up in Auckland (along with thousands of other people from all over the country) to enjoy an epic night of entertainment at Mt Smart Stadium. We flew up first thing on Tuesday morning, giving us plenty of time to enjoy some sight seeing before… Read more: Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!
  • Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!March 30, 2023
    Our youngest turned 13 in February, joining her older two siblings in ‘teen hood’ (though our oldest will turn 20 in June this year!). Having started high school a couple of weeks before her birthday there was, certainly for me, a moment of nostalgia as I reflected on how grown up my ‘baby’ has become… Read more: Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!
  • Summer holiday in Rotorua & TaupoMarch 29, 2023
    The last week of January, before the start of a new school year, we drove up from Wellington to the central region of the North Island for a week’s holiday. We’ve holidayed in this area many times over the years and never tire of the endless outdoor activities on offer in the most beautiful natural… Read more: Summer holiday in Rotorua & Taupo
  • Christmas and a Birthday in WellingtonJanuary 12, 2023
    Sunshine was gifted to us on Christmas Day this year in Wellington and we had the most wonderfully relaxed day together (well, almost all together, as our oldest currently lives in Melbourne and so we video chatted and were delighted to see them having an awesome time with a friend and their friend’s family). We… Read more: Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington

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